


Amor Fati

by bittersweetoranges



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dwarves, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Multi, Possible Character Death, big magical tree
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 18:43:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12870705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bittersweetoranges/pseuds/bittersweetoranges
Summary: "I like to think it depends on perspective. The first King planted the seeds of the great tree, along with an immortal mage who made it grow. But that was years and years ago, and kings aren't immortal, Kuroo.""Oh. I don't know about perspective, Sawamura, but that's really tragic."A lopsided smile replaced Sawamura’s gentle one, and Kuroo waved it off with another question. "Where is the mage now? I hope it isn't a solitary life."Sawamura shrugged. "No one knows, they do say though that they left Starshine in the places that they visited.""So, do you believe in it?"Sawamura stepped away from the Starshine. A fond look on his face. "I never had much to lose."





	Amor Fati

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LetheSomething](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetheSomething/gifts).



His eyes took a while to adjust to the bright, unshielded light on the crest of the hill. The beginnings of a chilling wind picked up from his feet and rose slowly to tousle his hair. Yellow flowers, Starshine, as they were known, rustled in their vines as they clutched close to the grass. With one hand, Kuroo pulled out the journal stuffed between the belt of his pants and flipped it open. With the other, he took the pencil from his chest pocket and put its tip to the page.

As of recent times, no one knew the medical benefits of Starshine. It was rare enough to find in the wild, and efforts to domesticate them had been unsuccessful. He was beyond lucky to get a chance to sketch it. Not just one, but a whole patch of them.

But before he could, the wind blew sudden and harsh. He looked up, and from where he kneeled underneath an arch of branches, Kuroo thought he might as well have looked into another world.

In the gaps between flower patches stood a young man. His back was wide for his apparent youth, and still the worn leather jerkin he wore hung loose. If Kuroo could wager a guess, it was probably made for him to grow into. It seemed to be the product of an overestimation in size and, maybe, just a tinge of optimism.

He was one of their traveling companions -- a stranger by almost all means. They were, after all, a small band of young travelers, who by pure happenstance had a similar destination and goal in mind -- Mythmere. Before this, this being an early morning on a hill, Kuroo had only seen the short crop of black hair and heard the unguarded conversations he had with his own, original party.

Daichi. Sawamura Daichi. That was his name. He heard the name in passing, especially from when Daichi’s tall and wiry companion admonished Daichi and one other, Asahi, with a mischievous fervor.

He found himself feeling a bit sorry for how scared Asahi seemed. He told Kenma, his own companion and friend so, but he had merely scrunched his nose and retreated further into his tome. But maybe that was because Kuroo was laughing. Who ?

"Er, can I help you?"

Kuroo almost fell back the way he came. How long had he been standing there anyway? Enough to be rude, most likely. In his reverie he had not noticed Sawamura turn towards him. But even now, Sawamura's feet found purchase between the flower patches, and not one bud lay flattened in the soil.

He had warm brown eyes, and a nose lined from some unknown mannerism. Kuroo tucked this tidbit of information in some corner of his mind for future reference.

He forced a smile and stood up, pocketing his journal and pencil as he went. "Aha, no. No help needed. I'm just glad to know the empty bedroll didn't mean anything grave."

Sawamura returned the smile, albeit a little less stiff than his, probably.  
"I'm sorry if I woke you. It's just... you don't get views like this in the city." He laughed faintly, a hand rose to rub at the nape of his neck, apologetic.

"No, I understand what you mean," Kuroo said, as he gingerly took a step away from the trees and into the light. "Do... do you mind if I join you?"

Sawamura paused for a moment before he motioned with his head for. "Sure."

Kuroo followed his example and picked his way through the patches of Starshine. As he got closer, the flower's perfume, although not strong enough to overpower, was enough to envelop him with nostalgia. Once level with Sawamura, he was met with the distant view of the great tree. A twisting trunk reached towards the heavens, the thin vein-like branches supported the massive green canopy unfurling in the sky. Below the tree was the ring -- a wall of mostly white stone that circled the roots -- and in its center was the castle town, Silvercrest. From his position the tops of the houses and buildings blurred into light painterly shapes, but they all paled in comparison to the castle at the town’s helm with its towers and one glass dome. 

He had to admit, even for a country bumpkin like him, this was a good view. So good that he allowed himself a few approving nods and even a low whistle. From his periphery he saw Sawamura breathe, what might have been, a relieved sigh.

"Kuroo, right?" he asked, putting his hand forward.

Kuroo spared little time before he accepted Sawamura's greeting. "Yeah. It's Kuroo Tetsurou. You're Sawamura right? Sawamura Daichi. I heard your name around camp."

Sawamura's grip belied his gentle smile. But his hand was warm and calloused and the grip was tight but not painful. Kuroo couldn't help but grin. This is a crafty one, he thought. Would be more so if it weren't for his heart at the hems of his sleeves.

"Yes that would be me. Sawamura Daichi."

"Glad to officially meet you."

The two of them shared a smile.

"So, you live there?"

Sawamura hummed. "Just near the edges. From up here it looks like a dream -- nothing like the reality of it."

"It always looks better from afar." Kuroo said.

A wistful look spread on Sawamura's face, softening his already gentle smile. They were the same age, and yet something about Sawamura felt old and worn -- but not tired. Never tired.

"I've never been to the city." Kuroo ventured. "This is my first time seeing the great tree."

"Then, have you heard the legend?"

"I've heard of it in passing. From Kenma."

"The one with the-" Sawamura mimed a hood.

"Yeah. He was pretty interested, he said that it was a sob story."

Sawamura grimaced and slipped a hand in his pocket. "He's not wrong."

"But he's not right either?" Kuroo said, crossing his arms.

"I like to think it depends on perspective. The first King planted the seeds of the great tree, along with an immortal mage who made it grow. But that was years and years ago, and kings aren't immortal, Kuroo."

"Oh. I don't know about perspective, Sawamura, but that's really tragic."

A lopsided smile replaced Sawamura’s gentle one, and Kuroo waved it off with another question. "Where is the mage now? I hope it isn't a solitary life."

Sawamura shrugged. "No one knows, they do say though that they left Starshine in the places that they visited."

"So, do you believe in it?"

Sawamura stepped away from the Starshine. A fond look on his face. "I never had much to lose."

"Oh, Daichi there you are!"

In Kuroo's old spot beneath the trees was the tall and wiry companion from last night. His hand rested on the tree trunk as he caught his breath. His startlingly gray hair looked silver from the dappled light, but it could not hold a candle to the shit-eating grin that appeared when he saw Kuroo. "I'm sorry," he said. "Am I disturbing something?"

"We were just about done." Sawamura said, ignorant of Kuroo's definitely non-existent disappointment.

The companion, not missing any beats at all, turned to Kuroo and said, "I'm Sugawara, call me Suga, and I'm very sorry for the interruption."/p>

"The name's Kuroo," Kuroo said, "I hope you enjoyed being seeker this morning."

"Sure, but let's not make a routine out of it," Suga said as he nodded his head once in greeting.

"Anyway," he threw his arm in a vague gesture to the location of their camp, "everyone's awake, and breakfast is... more-or-less, hot. You guys should come down and eat. We're also having a meeting afterwards."

Suga didn't wait for either to reply, and simply left the way he came.

Left behind, Kuroo turned to Sawamura, who, in the scarce seconds between Suga's disappearance, had already returned to looking over the land.

"Your friend,” Kuroo said, “he seems nice." 

"Suga? Yeah. He can electrocute a man with a look. A nice guy he is."

Kuroo laughed despite himself. "I definitely wouldn't put it past him."

And with that they made their way back to camp. When Kuroo was once again under the canopy of the trees he turned just in time to see Sawamura pluck a single Starshine and store it in his pocket.  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

Their part of the forest was a little clearing of haphazardly cleared up bedrolls and a dejected charred black mass by the crackling fire. Breakfast was, as Suga said, more or less hot. 

Kenma told Kuroo that some of the fish they were roasting fell into the fire when no one was looking, and by the time they realized it was already burned to a crisp. Now they only had three instead of five, one of which sat on a cloth before them.  
Opposite the two of them, a stone-throws-away, Daichi was eating his portion of edible breakfast while Suga chattered idly with Asahi as they went about clearing the rest of their stuff.

"I would have offered to magic it back to something edible," Kenma said "but spells like that are impossible for mere mortals like me."

This wasn't going to be a problem. They all knew the concept of sharing. Kuroo just couldn't help but think that maybe it was some cruel joke, or foreshadowing from some quirky god.

"I'm sure with practice and time you could do it." Kuroo said instead.

Kenma frowned -- scowled really, but didn't dignify him with a reply.

Spurned, but not really, he lifted a hand to somewhere below his chin, "I mean, it's only been a few months and you gained a few centimeters."

Kenma, not missing a beat, slapped the hand down with practiced precision.

Kuroo chuckled. "That had a very satisfactory sting, thank you very much."

His friend rolled his eyes and swirled the leftover soup in his cup. That was the end of it.  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

They were on the road, now back on the dirt path towards Mythmere. Green lush canopies and dappled shadows gave way to the early morning sun beating down on the party of five. But it was nothing for the thrill of adventure in their hearts. Probably. At least that's what Kuroo thought as he adjusted the straps of his pack, it had started to dig into his shoulders.

"Mythmere huh."

In his ministrations he had not noticed Sawamura walking next to him. "You just love catching me off guard don't you?" He said.

Sawamura rubbed at the back of his neck again "Maybe you should be a bit more observant then, hmm?"

Beside him, Kenma snorted into his hands, and to top it all off the duo in front of him had gone suspiciously silent. He was a bit peeved, but Sawamura had yet to get a rise out of him. "I'm generous and just an all-around good guy, so I'll continue this conversation."

Sawamura shook his head, but said nothing.

"We're going there to study, and I assumed the three of you are going to do the same.”  
Kuroo shrugged. “You know, as if young people had any other business in Mythmere asides from that.”

"True, but Suga's definitely going to do more studying." Sawamura said. 

Suga turned around to face them with such energy he kicked dust into the already dry air. "Yup, I'm going to study magic!" he said as he walked backwards. “I’m certain it’s going to be brutal, but that’s just part of the fun.”

“I’ve already heard all the horror stories.” Kuroo said. Also, he might’ve nudged Kenma, just a bit. In any case Kenma just gave him a dirty look from beneath his hood. Nothing more, nothing less.

Not… not that he hadn’t heard horror stories about his own trade, but that’s a whole different matter.

“Yeah, like the sleepless nights and then a hike up the mountains for some theory,” Sawamura said. "I don’t know how Suga finds that fun-”

“But it is fun-” Suga pouted.

”But it's definitely a more physical apprenticeship for Asahi and I.” Sawamura continued, unfazed. 

Scandalised, Suga turned back the other way and stuck his nose in the air, but Kuroo spotted the smile on his face.

Just ahead, Asahi's hand rose to card through his short brown hair. He looked over his shoulder towards the two of them. "It sounds weird when you put it that way."

Sawamura frowned, "but it's true."

Asahi bodily turned and walked over to Sawamura and pulled him closer. “You have to be clear about these things, what if he get’s the wrong idea?”

“I’m over here?” Kuroo waved his hands, and Asahi frowned at him with such sincerity he felt like he kicked a retired warhound.

“It’s not what you think, okay? Just so we’re clear on that.”

At this point, Kuroo didn’t really know what to think, so he just nodded. Satisfied, Asahi walked back up to level with Suga who gave him an empathic pat on the shoulder and a choice sentence about Sawamura (“Don’t worry he’s just a big meanie.”).

How intriguing. Kuroo checked Sawamura’s reaction but only saw a warm smile on his face.  
“So, Sawamura, how physical is physical?” He gently elbowed him for emphasis. “Is it computational physical or-” Kuroo twirled his hand around. 

“Eh, he's blacksmithing and I'm going into archery," Sawamura said. "Enough about us, how about the two of you?"

Kuroo was hoping to learn more about him, but this was fine too. Equivalent exchange and all that. "Medicine for me, and Magic for Kenma."

“Medicine, huh.”

“What’s with the huh. Is it weird?”

Sawamura waved him off and chuckled to himself. “No, no. It’s just that you strike me as a roguish character.”

Kuroo stopped walking, his brows furrowed. “Is it the hair?”

It’s this moment that Kenma chose to speak up. “Maybe he means you stole his heart.”

“Kenma, no!”

You know what? Maybe he was just feeling the heat from all the exertion of traveling.  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

Mythmere was not a conducive learning environment with its craggy mountains and constant thunder, but it was where the dwarves lived and that alone was enough reason to go to Mythmere.

Legend said that the dwarves carved their sanctuaries deep into the mountains where they hid and cultivated their knowledge. Now though, Mythmere had expanded and given rise to the little town near the base of the mountain. A sort of gathering place for people from all fields and walks of life.

Almost everyone seemed to have their own story. Kuroo and the others would be no exception.  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

"Shit!"

Kuro was woken up by someone pushing him off the bedroll. His eyes took a while to adjust, but he could just make out the panicked look on Kenma's face in the light of the moon. The mage looked pale, and sweat gathered in his forehead. All around them were empty bedrolls and abandoned packs.

"Get up! We're under attack."

Acting entirely on reflex, he got up and reached for his sword on the forest floor. "Bandits?"

Kenma shook his head, "We don’t know, but Asahi and the others are holding it back."

Kuro looked to Kenma and found, unmistakably, a plan forming in his eyes. "What do you need me to do?"

Kenma hurriedly led him away from their camp in a copse of trees and into the worn path, "we're going to set up a protective barrier, buy some time first. I'll set it, just get in position and hold the defense."

"Alright," he said. He heard the fighting before he saw it. Loud thumps and voices. The crack of wood and the whoosh of the wind, and then a guttural roar. 

They broke through a line of trees to a freshly carved clearing. Felled trees dotted the leaf strewn floor while pitiful stumps were smushed flat by a blinding and hulking beast. 

It looked like a cross between a wolf and a bear, but worse. Black tar-like blood dripped from its fangs. It had no fur and bright blue flames had enveloped it, leaving charred flesh where it burned high and decomposing skin where it didn’t burn.

Kuro could smell the death off its body. Goosebumps rose up his skin and his heart drummed in his ears.

The beast roared once again. An arrow shot from Kuro’s periphery and dug itself into the beast’s maw, followed by a big chunk of ice that hurled right onto its face.

"Nice of you to join us, Kuro!" Suga said, his iced hand raised -- follow through motion from the spell. "I thought you would miss all the fun."

Suga grimaced when the beast roared again, back on its feet once again. It bounded towards them with renewed fury. "Fine! I lied, this is not fun at all!"

Kuro laughed despite himself as they ran to the trio.

They arrived just in time to see Daichi take another arrow from his quiver to nock it. He drewit up to the corner of his eye.

"This is hardly a laughing matter," he said, letting his arrow loose. It hit the beast in the leg, enough to stop it in its tracks, as it reared back and threw it’s head around

It regained its footing and sprinted towards Daichi, but Asahi cut in between them and swung out with his sword. The very tip of the blade sliced at its face. Asahi landed a direct kick after, successfully pushing the beast back a few feet.

Asahi’s laugh was just a nervous farce of one. "I have to agree," he said.

He stood before them short sword in his right hand. Asahi might have been a scaredy-cat but he was holding himself well against the monster, even as it snapped its jaws at him and looked as if it were about to pounce.

"Just hold on for a bit longer," Kenma said.

Asahi laughed that nervous high-pitched laugh again as Kuro and Kenma took position behind the trio.

The mage raised his hands in front of him, and an array of bright red words set themselves before him. They switched out according to Kenma's will and got longer and longer as Kenma went through the spell. Soon enough, the tang of thunder soon joined the bitter smell of burnt flesh.

Kuro took this opportunity to kneel down and put his palms to the ground. Just as he did, red threads of electricity circled the beast. Kuro's stomach almost fell through as he was dragged a few inches into the ground when the pulse of Kenma's magic suddenly pulled energy from him.

He always had more stamina than Kenma.

The threads of electricity turned into a grid that curved itself over the beast. It lunged at the barrier only to be electrocuted.

Kuro dug his fingers into the dirt. "What next?"  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

The inn was silent that morning -- a different kind of silence from the nights under the sky or the days on the road. It was the quiet of the busy. Only the low bustle of footsteps and voices and the movement of crates and brassware.

Kuro closed his eyes and imagined home. His mother who fiddled with her jars before opening shop, and clucked her tongue when she slid open drawers. She clucked the same way when she woke him and his sister up. But those days were long gone now. 

He opened his eyes to the spread of sketches and books on his table. The stoneware from his hearty breakfast was pushed to the corners to make room, except for the cup. That one he used as a paperweight for a particularly flighty sketch. At the moment, it was nothing more than the barest of outlines. They couldn’t stop long enough for him to fill out all the details, but now he had the time to finish.

Last night, they had agreed to sleep in and take it slow, because they got caught in the rain and were all feeling all sorts of under the weather. The plan was to get back on the road before the week ended. Naturally, Kuro thought that now would be a perfect time to parse all the sketches he had taken along the way, and maybe put some of his mother’s lessons to use. Which included a trip to the local apothecary, and that’s always fun.

“Morning Kuro.”

Kuro looked up to see Daichi mid-yawn. The man’s short crop of hair more mussed up than usual. He stacked some of the books to make space and said, “Nice bedhead.”

Daichi pulled the seat opposite him before sinking into it. “Thanks,” he ran a hand through his hair, making it worse. ”Did you eat yet?” 

Kuro couldn’t help but smile. Daichi was, out of many things, cute when sleepy. “Yeah. They have good bread. You should give that a try.”

Daichi smiled sleepily and rested his head on his arm. “That’s good.”

A few seconds passed, and Daichi dozed off. Maybe. Kuro mirrored his position (he accidentally put his elbow on his pencil, and that was fun). Just taking in the view. “Daichi?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you want me to get you anything?”

“No,” he opened his eyes and slowly peeled himself away from the table, “I’ll do it. Thank you, though.”

He wandered off in the direction of the counter.

Kuro resumed his sketching, but he was too distracted and kept on messing up, so he gave up. By the time Daichi returned with his breakfast (hard-boiled eggs, sausage, a few rolls of Kuro’s highly recommended bread, and a flagon of juice), he was leafing through an encyclopedia of medicinal plants and herbs.

Daichi set his breakfast on the table and poured some juice (orange) into mugs he had procured, seemingly, from thin air. Kuro thanked him as he sat down and dug into his meal.

“You draw well.” Daichi said. He pointed at the abandoned sketch. “Is that Starshine?”

“Hm?” Kuro looked up and to Daichi’s amusement said, “oh, yeah. Your whole legend of the Starshine speech was very inspiring.”

“That was supposed to be the legend of tree. Stop teasing me.”

Kuro thought about it for one moment. Just one moment. “You’re too cute not to tease so that’s a no.”

Daichi rolled his eyes. “So, what’s the real reason?”

Kuro pulled the sketch closer, he scrutinized the shoddy cross-hatching. “As you know, Starshine is rare. It was my first time seeing it so I had to draw it. For posterity. My mom taught me how to draw plants. She’s an apothecary.”

He smiled at the memory. “One day I want to own an apothecary too.”

When he looked up he saw Daichi resting his face on his propped up hands. “What?” Kuroo asked.

“You’re cute.”

“Dashingly handsome you mean.”

“No,” Daichi waved him off and bit off some of his hard-boiled egg. “Definitely cute.”

“Oh, you got something on your face.” Kuroo pointed at a vague location on his face (there was nothing).

Daichi licked his lower lips, but didn’t get anything.

Exasperated, Kuro stood up and leaned over the table getting close to Daichi’s face. “Come here.” 

Daichi leaned closer and Kuroo pinched his cheeks.  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

“Are you kids travelling?”

The party of five stopped their ministrations. The man who had given them a ride on his caravan, gave them a concerned look. “It’s dangerous out there. They say that the Great Tree is dying.”

They were close to Mythmere. The flat and direct roads were exchanged for the winding and inclining ways of a mountain. Not to mention the winds that were both refreshing and troublesome.

Daichi smiled. “Thank you for the warning. We’ll be careful.”  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

With a deafening scream, the bird swooped down, the wind whistling through it’s wings. But Kenma ducked fast enough for the talons to only grab his hood, but that was enough to break his concentration. The line of words disappeared before him. 

“Suga!” Kenma said as he started a new phrase, scratchy writing appeared before him again.

“I’m getting there,” Suga said. The silver scrawl words in front of him shuffled along faster.

This was the battle plan: wait for the fiery, necrotizing bird to burn itself out. Literally. But Kuro and Asahi and Daichi, were a bit too busy trying not to die by baking. A row of blue flames towered over the entrance to the cave, so they couldn’t just walk out of there.

The heat sapped all of Kuro’s strength, he felt helpless. But that’s all they could do at the moment, watch and wait.

Time was of the essence.

Suga’s spell finished and the words gave way to a silver bow. He drew and and orbs of light gathered to form an arrow. He aimed at the bird. 

“Let it hit!” He let loose the arrow. It shot straight and true into the meat of it’s wing. Black blood sprayed out as the magic arrow exited. “Great gods!”

It screeched as it crashed into the ground, and Suga grimaced as he ran up to shoot another arrow through the the other wing.

Just as he did, Kenma completed his spell and a wave of water rose from somewhere and put out the fire.

It also rushed inside and doused the three of them. And that was fine.  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

Nostalgia wasn’t something easy to master. 

In the town of Mythmere, lines of houses punctuated the workshops and smithies. Steep sloping roads led to a circle of herb and medicinal gardens and maybe a square of brick and cobblestones. If one was adventurous enough, in the nooks and crannies of the town, they could find statues of certain dwarves in various states of disrepair. Some of them held riddles and some of them held answers.

According to rumor, there was particularly secretive square garden covered with moss and Starshine. In its center was a small pond, and in the center stood a statue of one young female dwarf. The plaque at it’s base was unreadable, so no one knew who she was. But the dwarves would say that in life, she would have been a quartz dwarf because of the citrine used for the eyes of the statue.

It is said that to make a wish there was to have your wish come true.  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

I don’t want to remember.  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

“Are those the twin towers?”

“No, those are just regular old towers.”  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

For Kuroo, the months passed by in a blur. Suga’s horror stories turned out to be the norm for many at Mythmere.

As a matter of fact, ever since they moved into their shared house they didn't have a moment to themselves.

He regularly saw Kenma and Suga hanging around the library, poring over tomes and sheafs of paper. Or sometimes he’d find them in the woods on his nightly treks for the pesky nocturnal herbs he had to bring home and study. 

Daichi seemed to be the one with the least hectic routine, but they all knew that he spent a lot of time in front of targets, drawing and releasing his bow for hours on end. However, Daichi did seem to have a lot of time to wander around. No one really knew where he went or where he disappeared to, but Daichi always had Starshine to give Kuro.

It was Asahi he had spent a lot of time with. His master’s apothecary only being a stone’s throw away from the smithy Asahi worked in. They ate lunch together and sometimes, when things were calmer they wandered the town. Asahi was willing to bet some of his savings (not all), that Daichi had found out more about Mythmere than they did.

Maybe a bit too much.

Or maybe just enough to get them in trouble.  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

"We simply need you to defeat the monster, that is all."  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

Later, Daichi would tell him that they were in no position to turn down orders. Ever since the current King came to power, support for the orphanages around the kingdom was in a decline. Slowly they would choke all the resources until nothing would be left. They couldn’t do that, not to their home.  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  


 

 

Kuro’s eyes takes a while to adjust to the bright light of the present.

He blinks and he registers the golden fruits floating from up above. They travel through the shadows of the Great Tree, slowly, ever so slowly.

He blinks and he feels the slow crawl of something hot and sticky down his forehead, his face, and onto the warm hand cupping his face.

He looks down and catches warm brown eyes. Daichi’s, he thinks.

He blinks and tears pool in the bright amberish colored eyes looking straight at him. Strands of gold sway to the gentle breeze. Citrine eyes, he realizes.

“I’m sorry,” the girl says.

Kuro closes his eyes and he remembers. Ah, yes.

The beast waiting for them at the roots of the Great Tree was a crow. Just like the monsters of before, it was enveloped in blue flames. Its long black feathers fell off in tufts, revealing the necrotizing flesh underneath. It bled black blood along the roots and seeped into the channel of water underneath. The blood shrunk the wood as it sizzled and burned at the contact.

As the golden fruits fell, it opened its beak and ate them. As they approached, it cried a broken and piercing wail before attacking.

The battle felt long and arduous, but in truth it only lasted fifteen minutes.

Asahi was the first to fall. He got knocked aside, once too many and had lost consciousness. Then it was Kenma who was followed by Suga after they spent all their magic shooting an arrow at it’s heart.

When the arrow had hit, it was only him and Daichi left standing. The crow was still alive. Alive enough to bleed on the cobblestones. Their job was not yet down. But then Daichi’s bow lay snapped behind them, and all that was left was Kuro’s shortsword.

In one anguished move, Daichi had snatched the sword from Kuro’s hand and charged at the crow. Kuro’s heart stopped and he reached out for Daichi’s hand. But he was too fast. 

Daichi had reached the Crow only for the fire to grow big enough to engulf them both. The fire burned what was left of the crow, leaving a girl and Daichi along the roots. Both were very worse for wear, but alive.

That was the girl sitting before him.

He grabs at her hand and pulls her closer. Her knees drag on the cobblestones, but he could care less. “What happened?”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. This wasn’t supposed to happen.” She wipes the tears off her face. “I’m supposed to protect all of you, that’s my job, I swear I don’t know how this happened.”

A bitter taste fills his mouth. “Then… why were you searching through my memories?”

“I… I needed to know how this happened and I don’t have much time.” She puts a hand on his. The skin on her fingers slowly turning black, almost as if ink is crawling through her veins. “Please, I need you to listen to my story.”

His body aches from the fight, all while his heart seems ready for the war. Kuroo looks at his friends all around him and he hopes that they’ll be alright.

“Alright,” he says.

The young dwarf lady cries, and she brings his hand above her heart. “Thank you.”

Kuro closes his eyes and the air turns heavy with the smell of Starshine.


End file.
